Los Angeles Lakers Current Roster 2015-2016

2015-2016 Season Roster:

After the worst season in franchise history, the Lakers got the second pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, and with it they selected guard D'Angelo Russell from Ohio State over big man Jahlil Okafor.

The Lakers' plans included to get a big man via free agency with LaMarcus Aldridge and DeAndre Jordan at the top of their list but they couldn't convince them and finally made a trade for Pacers' center Roy Hibbert.

They also added last season's Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams and veterans Brandon Bass and Metta World Peace.

Rumors

July 6: after failing to get a big man via free agency, the Lakers are in conversations with the Pacers to get Roy Hibbert via trade.

July 2: As soon as the free agency period began the list of big men available started to reduce: LaMarcus Aldridge, the Lakers main target didn't like the team's presentation, Kevin Love stays at Cleveland as expected, Greg Monroe chose the Bucks and Omer Asik stays with the Pelicans. The Lakers met with Clippers center DeAndre Jordan and other available options are Robin Lopez and Tobias Harris (restricted free agent).

They also could consider again a trade with the Kings for DeMarcus Cousins but it should include the Lakers recent 2rd pick D'Angelo Russell, which is unlikely to happen... Rumors archive

2015-2016 Player Movement

They arrived: Lakers new Players

After not geting any of the big men they wanted via free-agency (LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre Jordan...), he Lakers made a trade with the Indiana Pacers for 7-2 center Roy Hibbert in exchange for a future second round pick.

Hibbert, the 17th overall pick in 2008 was an All-Star in 2012 and 2014 and has one remaining season in his contract worh $15.5-million. He waived a portion of his 15% trade-kicker bonus clause to make the deal work.

He spent all his 7 NBA seasons with Indiana, averaging 11.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots while reaching two Eastern Conference finals and being selected for All-Defensive Second Team in 2014. But his offensive game declined in the past couple of seasons and he wasn't included in the Pacers' plans of a smaller and quicker team.

After failling to get LaMarcus Aldridge via free agancy the Lakers surprised everybody by signing 2014-15 Sixth Man of The Year Lou Williams to a three-year, $21 million contract.

He's 28 and averaged a career-high 15.5 points with 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 80 games for the Toronto Raptors last season. In 10 NBA seasons he played for the Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks and Raptors with an average of 11.9 points while making 34.1 percent of his 3-point attempts

Metta World Peace
For the final roster spot the Lakers chose the experience of Metta World Peace over the youth of Jabari Brown.

In preseason games World Peace, 36, showed he can still play defense and be a good influence in the locker room and a mentor for young forwards like forward Julius Randle.

World Peace, who was a key component of the Lakers that won the NBA championship in 2010 and didn't play in the NBA in 2014-15, will mke $1.5 million this season.

Marcelo Huertas (Marcelihno)

The 32-year old international veteran plays both point and shooting guard. The Brazilian national team player spent the last four years in Spain playing for FC Barcelona. He signed a 1-year deal.

Bass, 30, is a 10-year NBA veteran that played for the Celtics the past four seasons. He averaged 10.6 points and 4.9 rebounds while playing in all 82 games in 2014-15.

Lakers 2015
Draft Picks:

First Round, 2nd pick: D'Angelo Russell

The Lakers finished as the 4th-worst team in 2014-15 and their situation improved with the Draft Lottery. They got the second pick and with it they selected D'Angelo Russell, a 6-5 combo guard, that is quick, have a good floor vision and can shoot the ball.

They passed on big man Jahlil Okafor who was thought to be picked second. This showed the Lakers' strategy for their near future. They are expecting to get a forward via free agency (LaMarcus Aldridge?)

The team also believes they can worrk on Russell's big potential and make a star out of him.

First Round, 27th pick: Larry Nance Jr.

The Lakers aqcuired this pick from Houston in Jeremy Lin's trade and with it they took Nance. He's a 6-9 power forward from Wyoming with great basketball IQ and length and he can really jump despite having already suffered a torn ACL.

Second Round: 34th pick: Anthony Brown
Brown is a 6-6 small forward from Stanford who can defend and is a great shooter. He averaged 14.8 points and 6.9 rebounds as a senior while making 44.1 percent of his 3-pointers.

They stay

The Lakers decided to keep center Robert Sacre, guaranteeing his $981,348 salary for the season. Sacre, a 26-year old center, played 67 games for the L.A. last season, averaging 9.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks.

They left:

Boozer became a free agent af the end of a 2014-15 season in which he averaged 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in 71 games, and the Lakers didn't try to bring him back. He had arrived to L.A. a year before when the Lakers made the winning bid after he was waived by the Bulls via their amnesty provision

As an unrestricted free agent, Lin went to the Charlotte Hornets. He played one season for the Lakers after being traded from Houston. He averaged 11.2 points and 4.6 assists but he didn't make good use of his oportunity to be a star in a poor team, never conviced Coach Byron Scott and started in just 30 of 74 games.

Hill left as a free agent to join the Pacers. He was acquired by the Lakers by the end of the 2012 season and spent 3 more seasons with the team averaging 9.9 and 7.2 rebounds. In 2014-15 he played in 70 games and recorded a career-best 22 double-doubles.

Davis was one of the few bright spots on the Lakers horrendous 2014-15 season. He opted out of the final year of his contract but he always said he wanted to return to Los Angeles on a long-term deal. But the team focuses on getting an All-star caliber player in free agency and Davis signed a
three-year deal with the Portland Trail Blazers worth $20 million.

Selected with the 4th pick in 2010 by the Timberwolves, Johnson spent two seasons with the Lakers. He averaged 9.9 points and 4.2 rebounds while making 35.1% of his three-pointers last season and started 59 games but he also had consistency issues.

He left as a free agent and was signed by the Cluppers with a 1-year, veteran’s minimum contract.